Muslim pilgrims pray at the Grand mosque during the annual haj pilgrimage in Mecca. The Arafat Day, when millions of Muslim pilgrims will stand in prayer on the mount of Arafat near Mecca at the peak of the annual pilgrimage, will be held on October 25 and Eid Al-Ahda or the feast of sacrifice will be held on October 26. Photograph: Amr Abdallah Dalsh/Reuters

Women participate in a procession honoring "The Lord of Miracles," the patron saint of Lima, in Lima, Peru. Photograph: Rodrigo Abd/AP

10.13pm BST

U.S. President Barack Obama (L) participates in a taping of the Daily Show with Jon Stewart at the Comedy Central Studios in New York. Obama campaigned in New Hampshire on Thursday before attending a taping of the Daily Show and attending the 67th Annual Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation dinner in New York. Photograph: Jason Reed/Reuters

10.02pm BST

Multiple exposure: The Bolshoi Ballet's Svetlana Zakharova performs a part from "Distant Cries" during a dress rehearsal for a one night only Gala performance celebrating the 20th anniversary of Stars of the 21st Century at David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center. Photograph: Timothy A.Clary/AFP/Getty Images

8.52pm BST

Palestinians wave their national flags during a ceremony in Gaza City to mark the first anniversary of a deal which saw the exchange of 1,027 Palestinian prisoners for captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. Shalit was captured by Palestinian militants during a deadly cross-border raid in 2006. Photograph: Mohamed Abed/AFP/Getty Images

8.30pm BST

University and high school students attend a demonstration against deep government cuts to education spending in Madrid. Unions are angered over government cuts worth three billion euros ($3.8 billion) to education spending this year, which will lead to larger class sizes and increase average university tuition fees to 1,500 euros from 1,000 euros. Photograph: Dani Pozo/AFP/Getty Images

8.03pm BST

Constructive banking: The new headquarters of the European Central Bank (left) is under construction in Frankfurt, Germany. The ECB will move into the building in 2014. Photograph: Michael Probst/AP

7.53pm BST

A status symbol: The "Spirit of Ecstasy" emblem is pictured by a photographer on a Rolls-Royce "Ghost" car at a Rolls-Royce showroom in Sao Paulo. Upmarket carmaker Rolls-Royce inaugurated their first store in Latin America and say they expect to sell between eight to 12 cars a year in Brazil. Photograph: Paulo Whitaker/Reuters

7.47pm BST

We love you: British rock band The Rolling Stones (L-R) Charlie Watts, Ronnie Wood, Keith Richards and Mick Jagger arrive for the world premiere 'Crossfire Hurricane' during the 56th BFI London Film Festival at Leicester Square in London. Photograph: Facundo Arrizabalaga/EPA

7.34pm BST

Children play on burnt cars in Aleppo. Photograph: Stringer/Reuters

Meanwhile in another part of Aleppo a Syrian rebel fighter runs to cover from a government sniper during the clashes at Suleiman al-Halabi neighbourhood. The Syrian army bombarded the rebel neighbourhoods of Shaar and Sukari as well as two neighbouring villages. Photograph: Fabio Bucciarelli/AFP/Getty Images

Updated at 7.57pm BST

7.30pm BST

Potty building: Flower pots are seen at almost all the windows of an office building in Bucharest, Romania. Photograph: Radu Sigheti/Reuters

7.27pm BST

Glass ceiling: A Dormouse is sedated in an anaesthetic chamber before being micro-chipped as part of a multi-agency conservation project in North Wales. The Dormice, which are native to the UK, are being marked and monitored in a programme aimed at improving conservation methods in the area. Photograph: Phil Noble/Reuters

7.20pm BST

A stairway to fitness: A runner ascends the steps leading up to the west side of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington. The steps are a popular spot for fitness enthusiasts. Photograph: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

Updated at 8.23pm BST

6.42pm BST

All together now: Dancers from the Radio City Rockettes rehearse for the 2012 edition of the Radio City Christmas Spectacular in New York. Photograph: Carlo Allegri/Reuters

President Barack Obama gestures while speaking at a campaign event at Veteran s Memorial Park in Manchester, New Hampshire. Photograph: Carolyn Kaster/AP

6.20pm BST

Sudanese women performing a demonstration of the cereal treating process during the visit of a delegation of ambassadors from European Union countries at the SAFE center in Sharga village, in North Darfur. The SAFE Centre is a project promoted by the World Food Program (WFP) and currently only run by the local community, where members make fuel efficient stoves to reduce the consumption of firewood. Photograph: Albert Gonzalez Farran/AFP/Getty Images

6.14pm BST

Lucky day: A family poses in front of the Gandan monastery on a special day on the Lunar calendar for wedding ceremonies in Ulaanbataar, Mongolia. Mongolia has been undergoing massive social, economic and political changes since gaining independence from China some 100 years ago, and removing itself from the Soviet Bloc more than 20 years ago. Photograph: Paula Bronstein/Getty Images

5.47pm BST

Under a forbidding sky runners take the water jump in The Bathwick Tyres Yeovil Handicap Steeple Chase at Wincanton racecourse in England. Photograph: Alan Crowhurst/Getty Images

In an ongoing study of daily life in Pakistan, Muhammed Muheisen photographs a group of workers washing at a water reservoir on the outskirts of Islamabad. Photograph: Muhammed Muheisen/AP

5.11pm BST

Soldiers stationed at the US Naval Base Guantanamo Bay in Cuba prepare for pre-dawn physical training in this photograph reviewed by the US Department of Defense. Photograph: Michelle Shephard/via Reuters

4.58pm BST

Cyclist Mark Cavendish (right) watches as skier Graham Bell (left) shows amputee Andy Barlow how to ski on the Skiplex slope that has been installed at the new Help for Heroes Tedworth House rehabilitation centre for wounded service personnel. The new facilities are part of a multimillion pound renovation project at Tedworth House which aims to inspire wounded, injured, sick and returning veterans to lead active, independent and fulfilling lives. Photograph: Matt Cardy/Getty Images

Updated at 5.05pm BST

4.51pm BST

A troubled looking store greeter dressed as a Chinese historical figure to attract customers sits outside a shop in Beijing. Figures released today have shown a slowdown in the growth of the Chinese economy. Photograph: Wang Zhao/AFP/Getty Images

It's a dog's life: Puppy Wilfred and his three siblings were dumped in a bag when they were just a few weeks old. New figures released today show numbers of unwanted litters are reaching epidemic levels so the Blue Cross pet charity is calling on owners to neuter their pets. Photograph: Blue Cross

Updated at 5.12pm BST

4.37pm BST

Director Pablo Trapero chats to a journalist at a film-maker afternoon tea event during the 56th BFI London film festival at the Mayfair Hotel. Photograph: Ian Gavan/Getty Images for BFI

Updated at 4.52pm BST

4.33pm BST

A model is made up backstage during the Cali Exposhow fashion week in Cali, Colombia. Photograph: Fernando Vergara/AP

4.26pm BST

Three guesses what Liam Fuller, 3, might want to be when he grows up? Firefighters from around the world are currently competing in the annual World Rescue Challenge event at London's Excel centre. The challenges consist of a series of emergency rescue scenarios. The event is the largest fire and rescue service challenge in the world and will run at the Excel until 20 October. Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

Updated at 4.51pm BST

3.38pm BST

There's no mistaking Scotland's first minister, Alex Salmond, delivering a welcome address on the first day of the Scottish National Party (SNP) annual national conference at Perth Concert Hall in Scotland. Photograph: Danny Lawson/PA

A model walks the runway at the Slava Zaitsev spring/summer 2013 show on the first day of Russia fashion week. Photograph: Victor Boyko/Getty Images

Updated at 3.34pm BST

3.30pm BST

An angry striking miner brandishes a rock as he marches along with thousands of others to the offices of Anglogold Ashanti in Carletonville, South Africa. Thousands of miners returned to work today, just hours before a deadline to end their strike or face dismissal, but many look set to continue their industrial action. Photograph: Alexander Joe/AFP/Getty Images

US soldiers PFC Small Kyle (left) and SPC Josias Tchouasse prepare to leave their armoured vehicle to provide security during a meeting among local Afghan government officials, village leaders and the US army in Arghandab river valley in Kandahar province, Afghanistan. Photograph: Erik de Castro/Reuters

Updated at 3.33pm BST

3.08pm BST

Cambodians burn incense sticks and pray for their former king Norodom Sihanouk, in front of the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh. The nation has been mourning the former king, who abdicated the throne in favour of his son in 2004, since his death on Monday in Beijing, China, at the age of 89. Photograph: Mak Remissa/EPA

Updated at 3.30pm BST

3.02pm BST

It must've been a surreal sight for this dog walker meeting the Moscow Ballet's Natalia Gubanova (left) with Megan Owens, Ruby Mae Dillon and Freya Dillon from the Michael Chester School of Dance on the banks of the Grand Canal in Dublin. The dancers were taking part in a photocall to promote the Moscow Ballet's production of Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake, which opens tomorrow in Drogheda. Photograph: Julien Behal/PA

A demonstrator clashes with riot police during a 24-hour strike in Athens. The protesters had broken through a police line outside luxury hotels on central Syntagma Square. Photograph: Aris Messinis/AFP/Getty Images

1.36pm BST

Hamas militants take part in a march through the streets of Gaza City, marking the anniversary of a prisoner swap deal between Israel and Hamas. Last year, Israel freed more than 1,000 jailed Palestinians in a swap for Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier who was being held in Gaza. Photograph: Mohammed Salem/Reuters

1.33pm BST

A visitor takes a closer look at a photographic series called Foxy Mister by Tomislav Gotovac during a preview of an art exhibition titled Nude Men at the Leopold museum in Vienna. The exhibition of around 300 art works is designed to show how the depiction of male nudity has evolved in art history. Photograph: Heinz-Peter Bader/Reuters

Updated at 1.52pm BST

1.29pm BST

Prime minister David Cameron is on a visit today to a building site in Victoria, London, where he may be just checking that the sky isn't about to fall in before meeting a number of apprentices. The UK's largest commercial property company, Land Securities, began work on the site following a change to planning laws this week. Cameron hailed the construction project as proof of the coalition's commitment to cutting planning red tape and said it would support thousands of jobs in the construction industry. Photograph: Jeremy Selwyn/WPA Pool

Updated at 1.51pm BST

1.24pm BST

Anti-abortion demonstrators hold placards outside the Marie Stopes clinic in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The first abortion clinic has opened in Belfast, sparking protests from both the Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland. Photograph: Peter Morrison/AP

12.38pm BST

A terrible scene of destruction following an airstrike by Syrian government forces in Maaret al-Numaan. Regime warplanes launched a new wave of airstrikes on the north-western town of Maaret al-Numan, which was seized by rebels last week, according to reports. Photograph: Bulent Kilic/AFP/Getty Images

Updated at 1.50pm BST

12.25pm BST

A man makes his way through a mountain of rubble after a building was destroyed by recent shelling in Wadi Al-Sayeh district in Homs, Syria. Photograph: Reuters

Updated at 12.39pm BST

12.21pm BST

Sunlight reveals a playful moment while the washing dries on the banks of the river Ganges in Allahabad, India. Photograph: Rajesh Kumar Singh/AP

German chancellor Angela Merkel is captured in contemplation after delivering a government policy statement during a session of the Bundestag, the German lower house of parliament, in Berlin. Photograph: Thomas Peter/Reuters

British army veterans protest outside Downing Street in London. Hundreds of veterans marched on parliament in protest at the government's decision to axe a battalion of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers. Photograph: Andy Rain/EPA Photograph: Andy Rain/EPA

Updated at 11.41am BST

11.09am BST

Chief whip Andrew Mitchell arrives rather cheerily at Downing Street this morning despite facing renewed criticism and pressure to resign over an alleged altercation with police officers, during which he was accused of describing them as 'plebs'. Photograph: Bethany Clarke/Getty Images

Updated at 11.31am BST

11.05am BST

A man cries out for help amid the rubble of the Nur al-Shuhada mosque which has been shelled by government forces in the Shaar district of Aleppo, Syria. Photograph: Fabio Bucciarelli/AFP/Getty Images

An artist prepares to perform in a traditional Ramleela drama, narrating the life of Hindu god Rama, during celebrations to mark the Dussehra festival in Allahabad, India. Photograph: Rajesh Kumar Singh/AP

Updated at 11.30am BST

10.54am BST

Officers of the British Royal Air Force (RAF) carry a coffin with the remains of a crew member whose plane crashed in the second world war at a burial ceremony in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Eight British airmen have been buried with military honours in Malaysia, nearly 70 years after their plane crashed while on a mission there. Photograph: Vincent Thian/AP

Updated at 11.29am BST

10.51am BST

Cast your mind back to Madonna's conical bra and you'll know it could only be Gaultier. The French designer's latest creations are displayed during the Cali Exposhow fashion week in Cali, Colombia. Photograph: Fernando Vergara/AP